@article{ref1,
title="Are cognitive subtypes associated with dual-task gait performance in a clinical setting?",
journal="Journal of Alzheimer's disease",
year="2019",
author="Cullen, Stephanie and Borrie, Michael J. and Carroll, Susan and Sarquis-Adamson, Yanina and Pieruccini-Faria, Frederico and McKay, Scott and Montero-Odasso, Manuel",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Poor dual-task gait (walking while performing a cognitively demanding task) has been linked to progression to dementia in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, many of these findings come from research environments; gait performance across the cognitive spectrum has not previously been studied in a clinical setting. <br><br>OBJECTIVE: To examine whether patients from a memory clinic show differences in usual and dual-task gait speed and dual-task cost (DTC) based on cognitive diagnosis. <br><br>METHODS: Patients in the Aging Brain Memory clinic (London, ON) performed a usual gait walk and three dual-task gait walks: counting backwards by ones, naming animals, and counting backwards by seven (serial sevens) out loud. Patients were timed with a stopwatch over a six-meter path marked on the floor. One-way ANOVA was performed to evaluate associations between gait speed and DTC (% ) across groups. <br><br>RESULTS: One hundred ninety-four patients with subjective cognitive impairment (SCI; n = 46), MCI (n = 77), or dementia (n = 71) were assessed. Performance in usual (p <  0.001) and dual-task gait speed (counting gait p <  0.001; naming animals p <  0.001; serial sevens p = 0.004) decreased across the spectrum of cognitive impairment. Patients with dementia had significantly higher DTC in both counting gait (p = 0.02) and naming animals (p = 0.04) conditions compared with patients with SCI and MCI, who had statistically similar DTC in all conditions. <br><br>CONCLUSION: Dual-task gait performance significantly declines across the cognitive spectrum in a clinical setting. Dual-task gait testing may be used in conjunction with traditional assessments for diagnosing cognitive impairments.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1387-2877",
doi="10.3233/JAD-181196",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.3233/JAD-181196"
}